Monday, June 18, 2007

He used to tell her what to wear: nothing cut too low (at the neck) nor too high (at the hem); nothing see-through nor skin-tight; always perfectly groomed.

What makes the so called give and take of relationships? Is it acquiescence or resistance to hinted, suggested or imposed alterations – to attire, grooming, style, taste, habits and opinions – with each partner being tailored and trying to tailor the other? With every little adjustment - sartorial or otherwise - though difficult at first, partners fit more into the relationship and for each other.

The art of compromise is what makes a relationship work. But compromise becomes compromising when one partner tailors the other into something other than who she really is; when he tries to bend her and she willingly bends over backward for him - in the spirit of compromise - until she is bent unrecognizably out of shape.